Posted: 1/3/2009 2:06:29 PM EDT
| Hopefully there are some commercial helicopter pilots on the site and they are willing to lend a guiding hand. I already have a 4 year aviation degree as well as a private multi-engine rating and want to fly helicopters as a career, I know flying for the military is the answer but .mil is not an option for me for various reasons. I am considering going to a part 141 helo school and getting my commercial and cfi. I would graduate with about 179 hours judging by the curriculum and spend about $50k on top of my already stupid student loan debt. What are my options for getting a job after flight school? That is the bottom line, if there is a job market for low time pilots then I am willing to do it. Flying is in my blood and helicopters are my dream and I am ready to get it on, where do I get started? |
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Well... heres the answer you knew you'd get and didn't want.
If there is any way possible at all... go military. Right now the market for low-time pilots is flooded... your first job in the non-mil world is almost always as a CFI... and low time CFIs are a dime a dozen right now. I went the civilian route, finished my CFI in 2005. I have done all kinds of flying since then, starting with instruction... the road was rough... I have been without a job for months at a time in the last 3 years. You wont likely get done for $50K... that number is highly suspect. I finished my training for about $70k but I got my instrument and CFII. The only way you can get your CFI for 50K is without getting instrument rated. Without your instrument rating you are unqualified for about half the flying jobs out there. If you are training in Robinson helicopters, and plan to instruct in them... 179 hours wont get you anywhere... you cannot instruct in a Robinson helicopter until you have 200 hours total time... and most insurance companies wont insure you in them for instruction purposes until you have 300 hours total time. |
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Listen to relative wind.
I am on the same route. I got the loans, I went to school, and now I am a CFI. The good news is that I got hired at a solid school with a lot of students and helicopters, so I am getting to fly a fair amount. Bad news is I have a ton of debt, still need to earn my double-I. As mentioned: -$50k is a pipe dream. Plan for $70k if you are going to do it. - You need 200 hours to instruct in a R22 or R44, and most schools use these for training. - Some schools will hire as low as 200 hours, usually if you went through their program, and if their insurance allows it. Several people I went to school with, who didn't get hired, found jobs around 200 hours. Just took a few months. And some more: - Plan your training, so that you finish late winter, early spring. The busy time for schools is spring/summer, and they hire during that time. I know a lot of unemployed CFI's right now, looking for their first job, waiting till spring. - Instructing isn't for everyone. Some don't have the skills, some don't have the mentality. Fact is, your students will try to kill you, and they are ingenious about doing it. - Job requirements are going up. It used to be 1,000 hours was the magical mark before you got that turbine job, now many are wanting 1,250-1,500. - If you are going to do it, research schools. You want to go to a good school, with a good reputation. Even better, you want to go to a good school that you will eventually want to instruct at. - And last but not least. Not everyone is cut out to be a pilot. I can teach almost anyone to be able to fly a helicopter, but won't make them a pilot. |
| I agree with the above. How the hell could you have a 4 year av. degree and only have a multi-private? If that's all you ended up with you got screwed. You should not have just a private and multi and be in that much debt with 4 years. Do you have a Inst. or com.- how many hours do you have- how much do you owe now? If you wanted to be a rotorhead you don't need a fixed private or multi. Please let us know the above questions and maybe we could give better advice. I agree mil is the only good way to go. On your own will be a tough road and high failure rate to become a paid pilot. I went from rotor to fixed. Just more chances to succeed. |
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Quoted:
I agree with the above. How the hell could you have a 4 year av. degree and only have a multi-private? If that's all you ended up with you got screwed. You should not have just a private and multi and be in that much debt with 4 years. Do you have a Inst. or com.- how many hours do you have- how much do you owe now? If you wanted to be a rotorhead you don't need a fixed private or multi. Please let us know the above questions and maybe we could give better advice. I agree mil is the only good way to go. On your own will be a tough road and high failure rate to become a paid pilot. I went from rotor to fixed. Just more chances to succeed. I agree that .mil is a better route if available, but it's not the only good route. Like you said though, the failure rate is high, in addition to the high debt. As for more chances to succeed, I don't know if that is really 100% true. At my school, we have multiple fixed wing pilots who made it into the airlines, only to have to come back to instructing when the airlines started to downsize again. We haven't really seen that with the rotary wing side quite as much. Many of the fixed wing CFI's are trying to switch over to the rotary wing side. Many of them think there is a better future with helicopters. |
| I kind of knew those were the answers I was going to see. itgoesboom, do you fly for Premier in Hillsboro? I flew an R-22 out there last summer and had a blast! Honestly my debt is high but not as high as fellow students, after interest I am right around 100k at the moment. I did make some poor choices and set my goals to fly for the Coast Guard and gave up on getting my commercial fixed wing as it was not what I aspired to do and did not want to waste any more money. However after getting rejected into OCS three years in a row I finally threw in the towel and have since decided to search for a career I will love. I am beginning to consider finishing my commercial fixed wing rating but really feel at home in the cockpit of a helo. The aviation world sure is a rough road. |
| If you can get a job as a CFI you'll have to aquire hours and piston hours dont mean s$#%, You'll need to get a turbine transition eventually. Once you get that you could go up to Alaska and fly for tempsco shuttling tourists around on scenic rides and whatnot. You are not going to make S@#$ for money and they treat you like a kid. Its cutthroat out there so be prepared to get stabbed in the Back alot. Thats why I am pursueing the Military route, specifically Army Warrant. Thats the best program out there. Unfortunately you said you are not qualified. |
| Don't count on rotory holding up better than fixed. The cost is so much greater that the economy will affect it soon. Fixed jobs are still more in demand than helicoptors. And true on turbine. Piston just doesn't count for much. With what you owe and what you need to finish I am afraid you are in a pickle. Going back to a state supported school would atleast would let you defer payment on the school loans. For the near future nothing in the air looks very good. And one thing I know, a lot of places will not hire laid off airline pilots because they know they will leave ASAP. They don't want to invest any time in them. Corp is the place. Net jets is hiring and they pay really well. Fixed corp is really the place for a job right now. One thing, don't get into the "we will train you" places like Key Lime and Gulfstream. Scams. |
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Quoted:
If you can get a job as a CFI you'll have to aquire hours and piston hours dont mean s$#%, You'll need to get a turbine transition eventually. Piston hours are to get you to the point where you get a job flying turbines, where they will pay for your turbine transition. I know of only a few CFI's who paid for their transition, and those were all to get a very specific job offer @ 500 hours, or the guys who are going to Canada. Granted, currently finding a job as a CFI is going to be very tough. If kbahus wants to go that route, he better work his ass off, and find ways to make himself marketable, because the market is tough right now. Quoted:
Once you get that you could go up to Alaska and fly for tempsco shuttling tourists around on scenic rides and whatnot. You are not going to make S@#$ for money and they treat you like a kid. Its cutthroat out there so be prepared to get stabbed in the Back alot. Thats why I am pursueing the Military route, specifically Army Warrant. Thats the best program out there. Unfortunately you said you are not qualified. Temsco is only one option, and not the most popular one. I know a few who did that, and I haven't heard a single one recommend going that route. Other options include: Gulf of Mexico (requires 1,000-1,500 hours) Las Vegas (1,000-1,500 hours) Canada (requires a Canadian Com. license, and a type rating I believe). The Army Warrant program is probably one of the best ways of going, if you can manage it. Make sure you don't get injured in the process though. I know a student who that happened to, he got released, and the Army basically refused to release his hours, or allow him to convert to a civilian cert. He is having to start from scratch. |
Make sure you don't get injured in the process though. I know a student who that happened to–––– Ask me how I know about this! . One boot pointing foward, one pointing backward! If you fuck up your knee for some reason the flight doc doesn't want to see you anymore. Windjammer
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